wrapped my arm with a wide strap, a bit like what you use to measure blood pressure. Wires led from it to the device in her hand. There was a small box on the inside of the strap, and it pricked me.
Tia studied the screen. “He’s clean for certain,” she said, looking at Prof. “Nothing on the blood test either.”
Prof nodded, seeming unsurprised. “All right, son. It’s time for you to answer a few questions. Think very carefully before you reply.”
“Okay,” I said as Tia removed the strap. I rubbed my arm where I’d been pricked.
“How,” Prof said, “did you find out where we were going to strike? Who told you that Fortuity was our target?”
“Nobody told me.”
His expression grew dark. Beside him, Abraham raised an eyebrow and hefted his gun.
“No, really!” I said, sweating. “Okay, so I heard from some people on the street that you might be in town.”
“We didn’t tell anyone our mark,” Abraham said. “Even if you knew we were here, how did you know the Epic we’d try to kill?”
“Well,” I said, “who
else
would you hit?”
“There are thousands of Epics in the city, son,” Prof said.
“Sure,” I replied. “But most are beneath your notice. You target High Epics, and there are only a few hundred of those in Newcago. Among them, only a couple dozen have a prime invincibility—and you
always
pick someone with a prime invincibility.
“However, you also wouldn’t go after anyone
too
powerful or
too
influential. You figure they’d be well protected. That rules out Nightwielder, Conflux, and Firefight—pretty much Steelheart’s whole inner circle. It also rules out most of the burrow barons.
“That leaves about a dozen targets, and Fortuity was the worst of the lot. All Epics are murderers, but he’d killed the most innocents by a long shot. Plus, that twisted way he played with people’s entrails is
exactly
the sort of atrocity the Reckoners would want to stop.” I looked at them, nervous, then shrugged. “Like I said. Nobody had to tell me. It’s obvious who you’d end up picking.”
The small room grew silent.
“Ha!” said the sniper, who still stood by the doorway. “Lads and ladies, I think this means we might be getting a
tad
predictable.”
“What’s a prime invincibility?” Tia asked.
“Sorry,” I said, realizing they wouldn’t know my terms. “It’s what I call an Epic power that renders conventional methods of assassination useless. You know, regeneration, impervious skin, precognition, self-reincarnation, that kind of thing.” A High Epic was someone who had one of those. I’d never heard of one who had two, fortunately.
“Let us pretend,” Prof said, “that you really did figure it out on your own. That still doesn’t explain how you knew where we’d spring our trap.”
“Fortuity always sees the plays at Spritz’s place on the first Saturday of the month,” I said. “And he always goes to look foramusement afterward. It’s the only reliable time when you’d find him alone and in a mind-set where he could be baited into a trap.”
Prof glanced at Abraham, then at Tia. She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I think he’s telling the truth, Prof,” Megan said, her arms crossed, jacket open at the front.
Don’t … stare …
, I had to remind myself.
Prof looked at her. “Why?”
“It makes sense,” she said. “If Steelheart had known who we were going to hit, he’d have had something more elaborate planned for us than one boy with a rifle. Besides, Knees here
did
try to help. Kind of.”
“I helped! You’d be dead if it weren’t for me. Tell her, Hardman.”
The Reckoners looked confused.
“Who?” Abraham asked.
“Hardman,” I said, pointing at the sniper by the door.
“My name’s Cody, kid,” he said, amused.
“Then where’s Hardman?” I asked. “Megan told me he was up above, watching with his rifle to …” I trailed off.
There never was a sniper up above
, I realized.
At least, not
Tia studied the screen. “He’s clean for certain,” she said, looking at Prof. “Nothing on the blood test either.”
Prof nodded, seeming unsurprised. “All right, son. It’s time for you to answer a few questions. Think very carefully before you reply.”
“Okay,” I said as Tia removed the strap. I rubbed my arm where I’d been pricked.
“How,” Prof said, “did you find out where we were going to strike? Who told you that Fortuity was our target?”
“Nobody told me.”
His expression grew dark. Beside him, Abraham raised an eyebrow and hefted his gun.
“No, really!” I said, sweating. “Okay, so I heard from some people on the street that you might be in town.”
“We didn’t tell anyone our mark,” Abraham said. “Even if you knew we were here, how did you know the Epic we’d try to kill?”
“Well,” I said, “who
else
would you hit?”
“There are thousands of Epics in the city, son,” Prof said.
“Sure,” I replied. “But most are beneath your notice. You target High Epics, and there are only a few hundred of those in Newcago. Among them, only a couple dozen have a prime invincibility—and you
always
pick someone with a prime invincibility.
“However, you also wouldn’t go after anyone
too
powerful or
too
influential. You figure they’d be well protected. That rules out Nightwielder, Conflux, and Firefight—pretty much Steelheart’s whole inner circle. It also rules out most of the burrow barons.
“That leaves about a dozen targets, and Fortuity was the worst of the lot. All Epics are murderers, but he’d killed the most innocents by a long shot. Plus, that twisted way he played with people’s entrails is
exactly
the sort of atrocity the Reckoners would want to stop.” I looked at them, nervous, then shrugged. “Like I said. Nobody had to tell me. It’s obvious who you’d end up picking.”
The small room grew silent.
“Ha!” said the sniper, who still stood by the doorway. “Lads and ladies, I think this means we might be getting a
tad
predictable.”
“What’s a prime invincibility?” Tia asked.
“Sorry,” I said, realizing they wouldn’t know my terms. “It’s what I call an Epic power that renders conventional methods of assassination useless. You know, regeneration, impervious skin, precognition, self-reincarnation, that kind of thing.” A High Epic was someone who had one of those. I’d never heard of one who had two, fortunately.
“Let us pretend,” Prof said, “that you really did figure it out on your own. That still doesn’t explain how you knew where we’d spring our trap.”
“Fortuity always sees the plays at Spritz’s place on the first Saturday of the month,” I said. “And he always goes to look foramusement afterward. It’s the only reliable time when you’d find him alone and in a mind-set where he could be baited into a trap.”
Prof glanced at Abraham, then at Tia. She shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“I think he’s telling the truth, Prof,” Megan said, her arms crossed, jacket open at the front.
Don’t … stare …
, I had to remind myself.
Prof looked at her. “Why?”
“It makes sense,” she said. “If Steelheart had known who we were going to hit, he’d have had something more elaborate planned for us than one boy with a rifle. Besides, Knees here
did
try to help. Kind of.”
“I helped! You’d be dead if it weren’t for me. Tell her, Hardman.”
The Reckoners looked confused.
“Who?” Abraham asked.
“Hardman,” I said, pointing at the sniper by the door.
“My name’s Cody, kid,” he said, amused.
“Then where’s Hardman?” I asked. “Megan told me he was up above, watching with his rifle to …” I trailed off.
There never was a sniper up above
, I realized.
At least, not
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